JD and Joel discuss the new all-time highs in gold, Peter’s recent podcast, the Fed’s next move, and why silver has become an especially good deal.
The CME Comex is the Exchange where futures are traded for gold, silver, and other commodities. The CME also allows futures buyers to turn their contracts into physical metal through delivery. You can find more details on the CME here (e.g., vault types, major/minor months, delivery explanation, historical data, etc.).
The silver price has dipped since December, from almost $26 per ounce to around $22 today. We reported on silver being a relative bargain at the time, and with lower spot prices and an even higher gold/silver ratio today, gold’s monetary sibling is looking like an even more attractive buy than it was late last year.
Federal Budget
The Federal Government publishes the spending and revenue numbers every month. The charts and tables below give an in-depth review of the Federal Budget, showing where the money is coming from, where it is going, and the surplus or deficit.
This month saw a $22B deficit.
The Bible features more than 700 references to gold and silver, emphasizing their timeless significance. The term ‘gold’ alone appears in 47 of the 66 books of the Bible.
Beyond their current cultural relevance, these precious metals play a crucial role in scripture, highlighting three key attributes: their divine origin, intrinsic value, and monetary quality.
Citizens of Georgia, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Kansas may soon enjoy lower taxes on precious metals if recently introduced pro-metal bills are made law in 2024.
A Major Trend Change
In 2023, the Treasury added $2.6T to the national debt. While that number alone should be enough to scare anyone, the details reveal something even more concerning. $2T of it, or 77%, was financed entirely with short-term Treasury Bills maturing in less than a year. The chart below shows the debt issuance trend over the last 20 years. As shown, the Treasury typically relies on medium-term debt (2-10 Year Notes) to fund the budget deficit. 2023 was a massive change in standard procedure as shown by the giant light blue bar on the right of the chart.
Proverbs 22:7, ‘The borrower is servant to the lender,’ has resonated in the background of my financial upbringing.
Akin to other proverbs and parables (Proverbs 1:6), there’s much more beneath the surface worth pondering.
In the realm of institutional asset management, the copper/gold ratio (blue line) has served as a key indicator for some, providing insights into the potential trajectory of 10-year Treasury yields (red line).
In the last few decades, there has been a global shift towards a “cashless world,” a trend that continues to shape financial autonomy. Physical currency is becoming increasingly rare as the majority of the world’s money supply exists in electronic form. Governments and financial institutions are actively promoting a cashless society, raising concerns about individual financial freedom.